Nuggets spoil Love's surprising debut for Wolves

Iguodala leads balanced attack for Denver

MINNEAPOLIS -- Andre Iguodala had 18 points and nine rebounds to spoil Kevin Love's surprise season debut in the Denver Nuggets' 101-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points for the Nuggets, who withstood a furious start by a Timberwolves team buoyed by the return of their All-Star power forward.

Love scored 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, helping the Wolves take a 17-point lead in the first half. But he didn't get a whole lot of help in his first game in nearly five weeks. Nikola Pekovic had 10 points and seven rebounds in his return from a three-game absence.

After a sluggish start to the season, the Nuggets (6-6) have picked up two straight quality road wins against Memphis and Minnesota.

Ty Lawson had 18 points and nine assists and Kenneth Faried had 14 rebounds for the Nuggets, who overcame 20 turnovers.

Love broke his right hand on Oct. 18, about two weeks before the start of the regularseason, and the team estimated a recovery time of six to eight weeks. But he quietly rejoined the team at practice during a four-day break between games, and the Wolves did their best to keep a lid on his return for as long as possible.

Coach Rick Adelman even dodged a question about Love's progress about 75 minutes before the game, but word leaked out a few minutes later that Love was back in the starting lineup less than five weeks from his injury.

Advertisement

The stunned Timberwolves fans roared like they haven't all season when he was announced in the starting lineup, and the surprises just kept coming.

During his halftime interview with FoxSports North, Love said he called his father on Wednesday to tell him he was playing, then asked if he had any advice.

"Let it fly," Stan Love told his son.

Did he ever.

Love scored 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting in the first quarter, an incredibly fluid performance considering his long layoff. J.J. Barea and Pekovic returned from injuries as well, and the Wolves led by 17 points in the first half, but Love's Olympic teammate helped Denver come roaring back in the third quarter.

Iguodala hit three 3-pointers and then unleashing a spin move in transition and a dunk over two Timberwolves to tie the game at 67. Lawson added another from long range and Faried threw down a dunk that gave the Nuggets a 92-87 lead with 2:41 to play, and Denver was able to hold on.

Lightning has 5A state title aspirations once againIt was the only home plate the Legacy varsity softball field had ever known, and there it was last Saturday, in its tattered state, dug out of the playing surface and relegated to a lonely, unused existence. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story